Norman W. Rosling

Norman W. Rosling, father, grandfather, and educator passed away on May 11, 2026 in Grand Junction, Colorado at the age of 83.

Norman was born on January 15, 1943 to Gale and Ada Rosling at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. As an Army and later Air Force brat, he lived in Japan during the post-World War II Army of Occupation. When asked about his time in Japan he said he remembered seeing the B-29s fly out to bomb Korea during the Korean War. After returning from Japan, Norman lived with his family in California and Mississippi until they finally went “back to Colorado” and settled in the Greely area. In 1964, he graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelor of Arts and in 1970, a Master of Arts in biological sciences. From 1964 through 1999 he taught earth science for School District 12 at Merritt Hutton Junior High School and Thornton High School. Norman considered himself a good educator but a lousy disciplinarian because of how much he cared for his students. He had a strong love of nature, especially geology, and enjoyed many trips to the Rocky Mountains. During this time, Norman and his wife Irene also raised their son Eric and their daughter Jennifer. After retirement, Norman became an amateur astronomer with the Denver Astronomical Society where he continued to teach the public about astronomy. In 2012 he became a certified operator of the 20” Clark-Saegmuller Telescope at the University of Denver’s Historic Chamberlin Observatory. Norman was also a passionate aviation enthusiast which started from his time in Civil Air Patrol, and he loved to build and fly model airplanes. He moved to Grand Junction, Colorado in 2013 to be closer to family and was able to spend more time with son and grandsons as well as outwit all of the residents at the Fountains senior living community at Jeopardy. Norman spent many years building model ships, a lifelong hobby that he developed while a young boy. When he finally ran out of storage space for his creations, the Fountains was drafted into service as an unwilling shipyard. He was known for his quips, wit, love of good food especially sweets, and most of all kindness towards others. When asked how he would like to be remembered, Norman said it would be for good humor, love for the outdoors and nature, and love for geology.

He was preceded by his parents, Gale and Ada Rosling, and his wife, Irene Rose. Norman is survived by his children, Eric Rosling and Jennifer Boileau; son-in-law Christopher Boileau, his grandsons, Andrew Rosling and Blake Rosling; and his siblings, Kit Rosling and Susan Leinheuser as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and other family members.

In lieu of flowers please donate on Norman’s behalf to Colorado Public Radio.